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The almost unanimous finger-pointing at Israel as the only possible culprit in the fraudelent passports
used by the Dubai suspects is patently illogical in circumstances, where the British Home office has admitted that thousands
of passports have been issued to fraudster applicants including Al Quaeda terrorists.
See the Mail on line article in the right hand column below
Israel may, or may not prove to be the culprit, but it is plainly absurd to focus on one suspect only,
while ignoring the fact that genuine looking fake passports and IDcards are advertised widely on the internet.
Was it nurder or suicide?
Click here for "More than meets the eye - in Dubai"
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From Maurice Ostroff February 26, 2010
The Editor The Telegraph
Sir, 10,000
British passports issued fraudulently, including to al-Qaida terrorists. "Israeli immigration officials
copied British passports.." (Feb. 20), makes implausible reading, especially the claim that on arrival at Ben Gurion airport,
passports of six British citizens were photocopied and used to create new documents which were used by the hit squad. There
is no need to photocopy in order to record personal details of a passport holder, but in any event, the sinister connotation
attributed to the supposed photocopying at Ben Gurion is difficult to understand while no adverse comments are made about
routine photocopying in Dubai, as evidenced by the photocopies of passports and personal details of the suspects that have
been published worldwide. The disproportionate focus on Israel ignores the ready availability of false passports.
According to the Mail of March 2, 2007, 10,000 fraudulent British passports were issued in one year. An Al Qaeda fanatic received
nine British passports while plotting to murder thousands of people in a series of terrorist atrocities. Muslim convert Dhiren
Barot was among 10,000 terrorists who obtained a travel document every year.
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An estimated 10,000 British passports were issued
to fraudulent applicants last year by the Home Office John Reid http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-443441/Bin-Ladens-general-given-NINE-British-passports.html Mail on line March 21, 2007
An Al Qaeda fanatic was issued with
nine British passports while plotting to murder thousands of people in a series of terrorist atrocities, it has emerged.
Muslim
convert Dhiren Barot was among 10,000 terrorists and fraudsters who managed to slip through Home Office security checks to
secure a travel document every year.
The shocking figure emerged after officials trawled back through a sample of old
files to search for fraudulent applications. They discovered around 16,500 applications made every year are fraudulent - of
which 10,000 go undetected.
Last night, the Home Office was frantically sifting through all its old records to put
a 'stop' on the passports. The fact that Barot - considered Osama Bin Laden's 'UK general' until his conviction for plotting
mass murder last year - is on the list is an acute embarrassment to the Government. His trial heard the "vicious and utterly
dedicated" terrorist - who was plotting a 'dirty' radioactive bomb attack on London - had regularly claimed to 'lose' his
passport in order to cover his tracks. He did not want stamps on them from countries that might arouse suspicion.
But
it has only now emerged the 34-year-old managed to successfully obtain nine different passports. Seven were in his true identity,
having been repeatedly handed over by officials who accepted that his current passport had gone missing.
Alarmingly,
a further two were obtained fraudulently, in false identities. The Home office admitted other terrorists were also on the
list. Another man, Moroccan national Salaheddine Benyaich, had two UK passports in the name of a British citizen born in
Brighton. He is currently serving 18 years in Morocco for terrorist offences.
Shadow Home Secretary David Davis, said:
"It is outrageous that this Government managed to issue multiple genuine passports to convicted terrorists under false pretences. "What
is to say they won't issue genuine ID cards to terrorists or that terrorists will not use fraudulent passports to obtain genuine
ID cards? "Yet again we see the public continue to be put at risk by the consequences of the Government's failure."
Barot,
of Willesden, North London, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to murder at Woolwich Crown Court last year and was sentenced to
life with a recommendation that he serve 40 years. For nearly a decade, the banker's son toured the world meeting Bin Laden
and other Al Qaeda overlords to obtain backing for a series of terror attacks in the UK and the U.S. He plotted to blow up
hotels, railway stations and even a Tube train under the Thames.
When he was jailed, Mr Justice Butterfield called
him a "danger to the public" who wanted to "wreak death and destruction on the Western world". The Home Office released
details of his passport history as they sought to justify the introduction of the new face-to-face passport interview.
Officials
said Barot's fraudulent applications were among those which may have been rooted out - though the seven genuine applications
are unlikely to have been blocked. Prime Minister Tony Blair's official-spokesman said: "It isn't just a matter of saying
there's 10,000 passports out there and doing nothing about them.
"Each and every one of these is being followed up
to ensure that those responsible are caught."
In 2003 it emerged that the first Al Qaeda terrorists to be convicted
in Britain - Algerians Baghdad Meziane and Brahim Benmerzouga - had false identities and fake passports. The pair are now
each serving 11 years in jail.
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